Fortune Cookies and Lists.

My fortune cookie said, "Your smile brings happiness to others." 

Hi. My name is Rachel Elizabeth and I overanalyze and over think everything.
I've been thinking about my fortune cookie lately. As I thought about it, I realized that I don't smile enough. I wish that wasn't so but it's the sad truth.

"Why don't you smile, Rachel?" I asked myself.

After a while, I came to a conclusion.

I've forgotten about the good things.

Somehow, I've been able to make my life into a stressful mess that seems almost too much for me to possibly handle. I get so focused on all of the negativity going on around me that I forget about all of the good things. The fact that I'm living a beautiful life has slipped away from me ever so slowly.

There are good things all around us. Beautiful things. Joyful things. I'm learning that these are so important to remember. A couple nights ago, one of my friends decided that we were going to tell each other our favorite things so that we could focus on the happy and not the sad. So after a little back and forth of that, I came up with a long list of my good things.

: Hay bales
: Iced tea
: Fireworks
: Blue telephone boxes that are bigger on the inside
: Smoothies
: The Mill
: Long phone conversations
: First Masses
: The Book of Romans
: My heart beat
: Second chances
: Forgiveness
: Bonfires
: Flowers
: Trampolines
: Full moons
: A sky full of stars
: Rainbows
: Dewy grass in the morning
: Imagine Dragons
: Jones Soda
: Swing dancing
: 11:11
: Climbing trees
: Hide and seek in the dark
: Creeks
: Laughter
: Adventures
: When my favorite song comes on the radio.
: The National Treasure soundtrack

Seriously. My list could go on and on and on. Point is... there is so much to this life and I'm pretty sure that the good will always outweigh the bad.

God has given each and every one of us a beautiful life.

What did you say? Life doesn't seem beautiful?

Check your pulse. Is your heart beating?
Look up. Is there a roof over your head?
Open your pantry. Do you see food?
Look around your home. Did you see your family?

Sometimes we really take for granted all of the good things we have been blessed with and that we are living such a great life. But. This shouldn't be the case. No more of this.
I'm ready to push away all of the negativity trying to pull me down because I do not want to miss another second of what God has given me.

Besides. It'll help me smile and I need to smile more. Apparently it brings happiness to others.

And who knows. Maybe a smile is a good thing for someone out there in this big world. And maybe it'll help them to remember how precious their life is and how it is overflowing with these and so many more good things.